We understand mental illness – and the difficulties it creates for those who suffer from it. We value you and we are sensitive to your challenges. We will find every possible solution to enable you to live the life you are meant to live.

Mental Health and Wellness

Grief and Loss Group

Loss is a part of life, but a painful one. When you have lost a person you care for, you might find it nearly impossible to continue your life as before. Tragically, some people can minimize the pain others feel, whether it is because it was an elderly loved one, or because the loss came in the form of a breakup or abandonment rather than death. At Solara, we understand that all loss is painful, and that grief is real no matter what the circumstances.

Understanding Grief and Loss

Even when loss has been experienced before, it isn’t unusual for the response to a particular loss to be dramatically different than previous ones. The reaction to loss is shaped by life experiences, the relationship with the person lost, as well as the personality and culture of the person grieving. Grief is expressed in many different ways. Some common expressions are crying, fatigue, loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, isolating yourself, anxiety, frustration, and questioning. In severe cases, it can lead to depression, PTSD, suicidal ideation, and physical illness.

Grief is also experienced differently by children than it is by adults. Children under the age of 7 often feel abandoned when a person they know dies. They might fear being alone, and often act out after experiencing a loss. They might regress, losing their ability to use the toilet or speak. Slightly older children, between 7 and 12, often try to protect themselves in the aftermath of death. Teenagers respond much like adults, but often more dramatically. They may throw themselves into a religious group that provides answers, or they might take part in dangerous activities such as drug use and reckless driving. Keep an eye out for suicidal thoughts in children and teens that have experienced a loss.

When a loved one dies, people often never fully “get over” it. They may move through the period of intense grief, but they will always remember that person, and there may be days many years in the future when they miss them terribly. After the loss of a parent, spouse, or child, a person can experience a form of grief for decades or the rest of their life. This is normal, as long as it does not prevent them from living their own life.

Complicated grief is a term for the persistent bereavement that interferes with daily life for a long time. Symptoms include intense sadness, feelings of emptiness, bitterness, lack of interest in personal plans, difficulty looking back on happy memories, and preoccupation with the deceased. If these feelings are unrelenting, grief therapy can be a helpful way to move through them and get back to daily life.

What to Expect from Grief Therapy

It’s often helpful to understand what to expect from therapy for grief or loss. There are a few major goals that most grief and loss therapy facilities pursue. These include:

Developing an increased understanding of grief and loss. Learning to describe one’s emotions and develop a short-term plan for managing those emotions.

Accepting responsibility for change. Helping patients identify the issues grief is causing and commit to letting them go.

Correcting irrational thinking linked to past loss. If there are specific areas of cognitive distortion, the therapist will challenge those irrational thoughts.

Dealing with uncomfortable feelings. These can include survivor’s guilt, as well as sadness.

Decreasing extreme grief. Extreme grief is a risk factor for substance abuse and other dangerous behaviors, so learning coping strategies is always a priority.

Getting Help with Grief

The loss of a loved one—whether through death, abandonment, breakup, or other circumstances—can be a profoundly painful, isolating experience. For clients struggling with the loss of a loved one, Solara Health offers a grief and loss therapy group. In this safe, understanding, and compassionate environment, clients come together as peers to explore the emotions related to their loss. Clients are encouraged to share their feelings openly and honestly, and as they do so, they find a supportive community and come to feel that they are not alone in their struggles, helping lay the foundation for healing and peace.

If you have recently (or not-so-recently) experienced a major loss and are having difficulty moving forward, you might benefit from therapy and a support group. When everyone else around you is continuing as if nothing has changed, and you feel like your whole world has been shattered, it can be comforting to spend time with others who are going through the same thing. Your Solara support group will also give you the opportunity to share coping strategies that have worked well for you, and to learn from your peers.

For more information about our grief and loss group, or about any other therapy groups offered at Solara Health, please contact us.

What Our Clients Say

Bradley

The therapists and counselors and really whole team were extremely beneficial to me and my understanding of my issues. The treatment plan they developed was exactly what I needed

R.M. – Father

If not for Solara Mental Health, I am almost positive that our daughter would not be as advanced in her treatment, and would not have the almost miraculous confident and positive outlook that she has.

Lynn

Even though I’m not religious, I realized when I got sober that for the first time in my life I wanted to explore my spiritual side. I benefited hugely from the individual spiritual sessions that I had with Chris. I’m really grateful for that aspect of the whole treatment experience.

Alex

I have never felt better than I do now, since completing your program. The truly caring and supportive staff and the intensive program changed my life. What a neat place to stay for treatment - I love Pacific Beach! I have learned skills and behavior to move forward with my life thanks to you.

Bill

The program has given me the tools I needed to really gain stability. For the first time in years - maybe for as long as I can remember, actually, I’m learning how to cope and manage my stressors and triggers. I now believe that I can find some relief and happiness.

M.P. – Father

Your program provided our daughter with the most masterful therapist we have ever encountered (and we have used many). She has had an unbelievable ability to see the long-term trajectory of our daughter’s treatment and to approach her treatment in stages that fit where my daughter’s development was. We can’t say enough positive about her.

Dad

We are so grateful to you for the treatment and care you provided our daughter. She is doing unbelievably well now thanks to your program. We will gladly tell anyone we encounter that needs treatment about the wonderful work you do at Solara.

Watson Family

Solara’s program was such a positive experience for our mom (and for us)! She had become almost impossible to deal with. Your entire staff was phenomenally supportive and kind and patient with her. We feel like we’ve got our mom back, now.

Michelle Family

I want to thank you and the entire staff and support system at Solara for taking such good care of my sister. On behalf of my entire family, we want you all to understand that your patience and kindness stretches further than you can see… Thank you, again and again, from the bottom of my heart.

Husband

Solara was truly a life-changing experience for me and for our children, because of what you did for my wife! The treatment team was phenomenally supportive and perfect for helping her with her anxiety and depression. We are all now moving forward to put our lives back together and it started with you all in Pacific Beach. Thank you for what you do.

Terri

The Solara Treatment Program was a life-changing experience for me. To be able to heal in such a beautiful, peaceful environment, with such a terrific treatment team, was so amazingly positive. I have found my true self, again. I thank you and my family thanks you for helping me become the person I was meant to be.

Lauren

The Solara program is truly amazing. I’ve never had more clarity or more good energy in my entire life. The attention the physicians and the therapists gave me was outstanding. I feel like they truly understood and addressed my issues, which had consumed my life for years. Thank you all.